UK Police Smash Major Gang Suspected of Smuggling 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
Police have dismantled an international crime group suspected of smuggling up to 40,000 stolen mobile phones from the UK to China in the last year alone.
In what the Metropolitan Police is calling the UK’s largest ever operation against phone thefts, 18 suspects have been arrested and more than 2,000 stolen devices have been discovered. Investigators believe the gang could be responsible for exporting up to half of all phones stolen in London, which accounts for the majority of mobile thefts across the country.
The massive investigation was triggered on Christmas Eve when a victim used Apple’s ‘Find My’ feature to electronically track their stolen iPhone to a warehouse near Heathrow Airport. Upon investigation, security at the site found the device in a box among another 894 stolen phones destined for Hong Kong.
Detective Inspector Mark Gavin stated, “Finding the original shipment of phones was the starting point for an investigation that uncovered an international smuggling gang, which we believe could be responsible for exporting up to 40% of all the phones stolen in London.”
Further shipments were intercepted, and forensic work on the packages led police to two Afghan nationals in their 30s. Dramatic bodycam footage captured the moment officers, some with Tasers drawn, carried out a mid-road interception of their car. Inside, they found devices wrapped in foil—a method used to transport them undetected. The two men, along with a 29-year-old Indian national, have been charged with conspiring to receive stolen goods and remove criminal property.
Last week, officers made 15 further arrests, predominantly women, on suspicion of theft and handling stolen goods during a series of dawn raids on 28 properties.
The crackdown comes as phone thefts in London have nearly tripled in the last four years, with tourist hotspots like the West End being particularly prolific. A growing demand for second-hand phones, both in the UK and abroad, is a major driver behind the surge. Senior officers noted the gang specifically targeted Apple products for their high profitability overseas, with street thieves being paid up to £300 per handset and devices later selling in China for up to £4,000 each.
Commander Andrew Featherstone, the Met’s lead for tackling phone theft, said: “We’ve dismantled criminal networks at every level from street-level thieves to international organised crime groups exporting tens of thousands of stolen devices each year.”
